Common Questions About Mobile Casinos in Canada

Are Mobile Casinos Legal in Canada?

Gambling law in Canada is not federally regulated, instead falling under the purview of the individual provinces. As a result, Canada is home to many lavish and luxurious physical casinos, located throughout the country. When it comes to mobile casinos, and online gaming in general, some questions do arise.

Canadian-based online gaming is allowed by every province except Saskatchewan, and many casinos headquartered in the country supply online products to their customers. Casinos that are entirely offshore are not truly addressed in Canadian gambling law, and so their legality is a bit of a question. While it is not illegal for Canadian citizens to play at an offshore casino, the question becomes whether or not those casinos are allowed to accept those players.

In the highly unlikely event that Canada does issue a legal challenge to these types of casinos, the existence of the Kahnawake Gaming Commission may provide safe haven. Formed in 1996, the Kahnawake Commission is located in Quebec and exists to regulate gaming activity in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory. While the Kahnawake do not count as a provincial government, but as First Nation tribe the group claims a level of sovereignty that would be difficult to challenge.

And as a result the government of Quebec has allowed them to operate with and thrive, and now the tribe and its jurisdiction are major players when it comes to gambling in Canada. This is significant because the Kahnawake have made themselves experts when it comes to hosting online casinos, and offer some of the best license deals imaginable to online casinos that choose to partner with, and there are many.

Are Mobile Online Casinos Popular in Canada?

As mentioned above, gambling in Canada is controlled by governments of the provinces themselves, and those governments recognize the benefits of legalized gambling. As a result, many physical casinos exist and are enjoyed by many, many citizens year round. Gambling in Canada stretches back hundreds of years, starting with native games of chance.

Gaming culture is so strong in the country that an 1892 nationwide gambling ban lasted just eight short years before various forms of gambling were legalized again. In the years since more and more forms of gambling have been legalized, and Canada now stands as a bastion of gaming freedom. Canada is among the top 10 countries on earth in terms of smartphone ownership, coming in at eighth with 67% of the country owning such a device.

Device ownership is expected to rise for the foreseeable future, and device usage is already becoming more and more ubiquitous across the nation. Of particular note when it comes to mobile casinos is a recent study that revealed over 80% of survey respondents prefer using their smartphones when they want to play a game.

What are the Most Popular Mobile Networks in Canada?

Due to the remoteness of some parts of the country, 10% of Canadian cell phone users have to utilize small, regional providers that specialize in covering the area where they live. The rest of the population, the other 90% of Canadian cell phone users, subscribe to one of three major mobile service providers. The following table breaks down coverage and subscription amounts for those companies.

Mobile Network

Population % Covered by LTE Network

# of Customers

Rogers Communications (Rogers Wireless, Fido, Chatr)

92%

9,962,000

Bell Canada (Bell Mobility, Virgin Mobile, MTS Mobility)

93%

8,764,714

Telus (Telus Mobility, Koodo Mobile, Public Mobile)

91%

8,427,000

What Mobile Casino Payment Options are Offered in Canada?

While lacking access to some Euro-centric casino payment options, Canadian mobile casino users are still able to utilize a variety of payment options. Both traditional and newer digital methods can be used to add money to a mobile casino account. Some specific ways to add and withdraw funds from a mobile casino are:

Credit Cards | Credit cards issued by Visa and Mastercard will be accepted at virtually all mobile casinos.

Bank Transfers | An old classic, and one of the few ways people used to be able to send funds to people and companies that were not physically near them. This is different from internet banking, which is another option Canadians can use.

Eco | Eco is a company that lets you open an account that can be replenished a number of ways. Users can use their digital account or a physical prepaid card and have the flexibility to play in over 45 currencies. Eco users are not required to provide bank account details.

Paysafecard | paysafecard is a prepaid card that is accepted at nearly 500,000 outlets, including many online casinos.

iDebit | iDebit is a service that allows customers to make deposits directly from an online bank account, no credit card required. A number of major Canadian banks are supported by iDebit.

Which Mobile Casinos Accept Canadian Players?

As has already been covered, there are some potential difficulties for offshore casinos that accept Canadian players. As a result, some companies have chosen to stay out of the Canadian market. Thankfully, however, the quality of the casinos that do choose to do business in Canada more than makes up for whatever may be lacking in quantity.

Because of the legal gray area these casinos reside in, some users might have reservations about the regulation and safety of casinos that accept Canuck customers. To put those fears to rest users should only play at online casinos that are regulated by a trustworthy gaming board. All casinos featured on casinos.mobi meet this standard. The following casinos are all regulated by a trusted authority and also accept Canadian players:

PKR | This company was on the cutting edge of online casino gamification and meets standards set by the Aldernay Gambling Control Commission.

Mr Green | Another Nordic company, and one known for their irreverent sense of humor, this casino is another one licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority.

NetBet | This casino goes the extra mile for Canadian players by asking whether they prefer to play in English or French when they first access the site, and is licensed by Malta.

Casino Cruise | Casino Cruise, known for the aquatic-themed promotions, is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority.

*All of the casinos above are also regulated by the UK Gambling Commission.*

Which Canadian Mobile Casinos Have Dedicated Apps?

Mobile casinos are focusing more and more on decluttering devices by creating games and sites that run incredibly well within mobile browsers. However, some casinos still see the value in creating dedicated applications that take advantage of the specific strengths of various operating systems. Some of these casinos include: